SA union ministers vows to stall T Bill

New Delhi:: When the Lok Sabha reassembles on Monday, who will be in the House to defend Samaikyandhra, with 16 Seemandhra MPs having been suspended from the House?

The Central ministers from Seemandhra say they will take the place of the suspended MPs and block the passage of Telangana bill, come what may. 'I am confident we will be able to block the bill,' said Cabinet minister Kavuri Sambasiva Rao, maintaining that the ministers would take the role of the MPs who had stalled the proceedings of the House till Thursday.

There is a feeling among the suspended MPs that the House cannot take up a bill which concerns the region that they represent without their presence in the House.

'The Congress has suspended all the MPs and now wants to pass the bill. How could this be done? There would be no one in the House to defend the interests of the people of Seemandhra,' MP Sabbam Hari said.

Voicing a similar opinion, TDP MP Modugula Venugopala Reddy said: 'You cannot take up the bill without MPs from Seemandhra in the House. You first lift the suspension on us and allow us inside,' he said.

The Central ministers from Seemandhra say for them protection of the interests of the people is more important than their party.

'For me, the welfare of the people is important. I have voiced my opinion against bifurcation at all fora. I have told the party and the government.

I have explained to the GoM, made supplication at the core committee, raised the issue in the Cabinet. I explained to party chief Sonia Gandhi and prime minister Manmohan Singh why bifurcation is not advisable.

No one listened to us. So, we will explain it in the House so that members of other parties will understand what our problem is,' Sambasiva Rao said.

He says the Central ministers have the necessary courage to stall the bill. 'As ministers we are not supposed to even raise from our seats, leave alone going into the well. But we had to because the interests of people are at stake. We will continue doing it,' he said.

Another minister D Purandeswari expressed her displeasure in a subtle way over how the issue is being handled by the Congress. 'Right form the beginning, I have been under the impression that this was not the way Telangana issue should be handled,' she said. She also wanted to know when the T-bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha. 'When was it tabled? Who said 'Yes' and who said 'No'?' she asked.

She made it a point that if the bill in its present form is sought to be passed, then she would vote against it. 'From the beginning I have been voicing the concerns of the people of my region and I have a responsibility to protect them,' she said.